“The fact that we are getting used to things being bad does not mean we should not try to change them,” said Judge Łukasz Piebiak, president of the association “Lawyers for Poland.” Speaking on TV Republika, he described the current situation in the justice system and pointed out that the actions of the ministry’s leadership could lead to even greater chaos. And it is ordinary citizens who will suffer most.
Commenting on the government’s recent actions, including the forceful entry into the National Council of the Judiciary, he stated that this is “progressive lawlessness.” – “Adam Bodnar started it, Waldemar Żurek pressed the gas pedal even harder and is heading straight for a wall. Let us hope that wall will be President Nawrocki,” he said.
“Yes-men” in the National Council of the Judiciary?
In his view, “many legislative plans” of the current authorities “will quite obviously end in a veto if they are passed.” He stressed, however, that the president’s role is much broader, as he holds many powers in the area of the justice system – including appointing judges and announcing recruitment for vacant positions in the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court.
He recalled that the term of the current National Council of the Judiciary ends in May. According to pro-government media reports, candidates may include – in Piebiak’s words – “pro-government yes-men” from associations such as “Iustitia” or “Themis.”
“Personally, as a citizen, I would not want such people to make selections to the Supreme Court or the Supreme Administrative Court, because their choices will be political, since these are political non-judges in the service of Civic Platform (PO),” he said.
Problems for ordinary citizens
Piebiak also referred to the dismissal of court presidents without positive opinions from their peers. – “There are at least several dozen such cases,” he noted. In his view, filling posts with people “pretending to be presidents” will have consequences for ordinary Poles.
“Court presidents have a whole range of powers, not only internal within the justice system[…] but also external – for example, presidents of appellate courts administer oaths to newly appointed notaries, they are involved in the appointment of bailiffs and probation officers, so all these actions may potentially be deemed invalid and may simply result in problems for ordinary citizens. Imagine that an illegal notary draws up a notarial deed involving huge sums related to real estate, and then it turns out that someone challenges that notary’s status,” he said.
“Judgments will be overturned”
As he added, “just as [Dariusz] Korneluk took control of the National Prosecutor’s Office, now Korneluk himself and everyone who derives authority from him are illegals,” adding that the actions of those prosecutors can be challenged. He recalled that already, due to questioning the status of some judges, verdicts against criminals are being overturned. And it could get even worse.
“One can imagine further situations in which, for example, because an improperly authorized prosecutor participated, judgments will be overturned, people will be summoned again, for example for questioning. We have already had such situations – some indecent acts against a little girl, who is again exposed to trauma,” he said.
As he pointed out, despite these scandalous situations, Poles are becoming accustomed to them. – “Just as we are getting used to the fact that there is a war in Ukraine or that people are dying in the Gaza Strip. But this is a tragedy. The fact that we get used to it because we have been hearing about such situations for one, two, three years does not mean that everything should not be done to stop this situation,” he said. He added that he is counting on the president in this matter.
Judge Piebiak also emphasized that legal organizations are sounding the alarm about “acts of lawlessness” not for their own benefit. – “We are not acting in our own interest – well, in some sense we are too, but[…] if in such a disgraceful way a verdict against a rapist or a murderer is overturned and the case returns, who does that hurt the most? A judge or a prosecutor? No. We get paid regardless of whether our judgments or indictments are wise or foolish[…] It really hits society the hardest, and that is worth understanding, because it is the victims, the people exposed to trauma again, or for the third time,” he said.